A I can offer is that I karaoke'd "Piano Man" together with a colleague who is 14 years younger than I am. It was her request - I was learning the vocal melody as we were singing it 
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Billy Joel songs
- Thread starter mstillman
- Start date
Did you also do "It's the End of the World as We Know It"? That'd be a set's worth of lyrics in 2 songs!
I agree. Vast catalogue, but which are the faster dance numbers that go over at gigs vs which are the SNL (sit & listen) ones?
Also, as pointed out, many of his songs are more complex than one might think. I try to maximize our ROI learning and performing songs. Another reason I'm not sold on learning "My Life" is the backup vocals, while not impossible, would likely take a lot of work, especially if one of our better harmonizers sings lead. Don't want to do all that work for a "meh" response, especially with a song that's already perceived as questionable.
Case in point: We spent a lot of time learning The Pretty Reckless' "Take Me Down" and even I thought it sounded good. Wasn't a fan at first but sure, one of us suggested it. We tossed it after 3 gigs. Never resonated with our group. IIRC, it actually cleared the dance floor 2x.
Valuable to know, thank you. I suspect that's largely because they hear ML far less often than OTGDY.
Any chance of asking them which is more likely to get them up on the dance floor?
Trying to avoid "concert" setting in favor of getting people up out of their chairs.
'Big Shot' should be declared by the FDA as the Official Hangover Song.
BJ is having another moment. When things get back you should have a couple. Hughie the main character of "The Boys" is a fan. I remember them using "Big Shot" and "Pressure."
Anybody play Travelin` Prayer?
Could be a fun bluegrass diversion.
Could be a fun bluegrass diversion.
I played Movin’ Out and Only The Good Die Young with a cover band a few years ago and both were well received. I would expect My Life would be, too- but all those tunes depend heavily on keeping the arrangements tight and letting the vocal carry the song. Doug Stegmeyer’s lines are always fun to learn, too. He and Liberty Devitto are a criminally underrated rhythm section
I used to also sing and play "Get Out Of Denver" by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. That is another song with a lot of lyrics and it is very fast.
When I saw him at Kaufmann Stadium in 2018, this was the one song I was disappointed not to see. The rest of the show was superb.
Perhaps I Go To Extremes would be worth considering as a tune to add if you want feet on the floor?
I also think Just the Way You Are would be a nice choice, but that is a different kind of dance (and may be better in a wedding setlist).
Yeah, people didn't seem to know how to dance to it, rock out or belly rub, so they went to the bar.....
Just The Way You Are is frequently requested at weddings and goes over great. Extremes, in my opinion, is an awful song. Now, I understand that "xxxx# can't be wrong" and all that. Still awful.
I am not saying it is great. Just spit-balling rockers of his that might work.
I do agree with the sentiment that his music is more of a listening experience rather than a dancing one.
I do agree with the sentiment that his music is more of a listening experience rather than a dancing one.
I might not have gotten that far.. I think I've seen up through S2E2, the one where.. j/k
Absolutely love the tune – saw him perform it live on The Nylon Curtain tour. But the lyrics are kind of heavy...sorta like Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." (1984) or The Police's "Every Breath You Take" (1983). Who listens to the words anyways?
IMHO, Joel's most danceable stuff comes from his '50s doo-wop-oriented material: "Tell Her About It," "Uptown Girl," "Keeping The Faith," et al.
